Policy Press
26 The quantitative crisis in UK sociology
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Malcolm Williams
Abstract
This chapter describes the ‘crisis’ in UK quantitative methods, primarily that as exemplified by sociology, and the response to it over the last two decades, from research identifying the problem in the early 2000s, to the current Q-Step initiative, which aims for a ‘step change’ in quantitative methods teaching. This we describe as a ‘revolution’ and the purpose of this chapter is to assess the likely success of this ‘revolution’. We provide an overview of the projects which aimed to describe, explain and address the crisis. We then briefly sketch out a methodological history of UK sociology, from which we conclude that UK sociology has been predominantly qualitative and humanistic for much of its existence and this, we argue, is a barrier to the success of the current initiatives. Although Q-Step will have increased the number of UK trained quantitative social scientists, who in turn may shape the culture of their departments, grafting number onto existing structures and a prevailing culture of humanism may only have a superficial, or even ephemeral effect.
Abstract
This chapter describes the ‘crisis’ in UK quantitative methods, primarily that as exemplified by sociology, and the response to it over the last two decades, from research identifying the problem in the early 2000s, to the current Q-Step initiative, which aims for a ‘step change’ in quantitative methods teaching. This we describe as a ‘revolution’ and the purpose of this chapter is to assess the likely success of this ‘revolution’. We provide an overview of the projects which aimed to describe, explain and address the crisis. We then briefly sketch out a methodological history of UK sociology, from which we conclude that UK sociology has been predominantly qualitative and humanistic for much of its existence and this, we argue, is a barrier to the success of the current initiatives. Although Q-Step will have increased the number of UK trained quantitative social scientists, who in turn may shape the culture of their departments, grafting number onto existing structures and a prevailing culture of humanism may only have a superficial, or even ephemeral effect.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures, tables and boxes vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Foreword xv
- Preface xix
- General introduction 1
-
How data are changing
- Statistical work: the changing occupational landscape 13
- The creation and use of big administrative data 23
- Data analytics 35
- Social media data 47
-
Counting in a globalised world
- Adult skills surveys and transnational organisations: globalising educational policy 65
- Using survey data: towards valid estimates of poverty in the South 79
- Counting the population in need of international protection globally 91
- Tax justice and the challenges of measuring illicit financial flows 103
-
Statistics and the changing role of the state
- The control and ‘fitness for purpose’ of UK official statistics 119
- The statistics of devolution 133
- Welfare reform: national policies with local impacts 145
- From ‘welfare’ to ‘workfare’, and back again? Social insecurity and the changing role of the state 157
- Access to data and NHS privatisation: reducing public accountability 171
-
Economic life
- The ‘distribution question’: measuring and evaluating trends in inequality 187
- Labour market statistics 199
- The financial system: money makes the world go around 213
- The difficulty of building comprehensive tax avoidance data 225
- Tax and spend decisions: did austerity improve financial numeracy and literacy? 237
-
Inequalities in health and wellbeing
- Health divides 251
- Measuring social wellbeing 265
- Re-engineering health policy research to measure equity impacts 277
- The Generation Game: ending the phoney information war between young and old 291
-
Advancing social progress through critical statistical literacy
- The Radical Statistics Group: using statistics for progressive social change 307
- Lyme disease politics and evidence-based policy making in the UK 319
- Counting the uncounted: contestations over casualisation data in Australian universities 327
- The quantitative crisis in UK sociology 337
- Critical statistical literacy and interactive data visualisations 349
- Full Fact 359
- What a difference a dataset makes? Data journalism and/as data activism 365
- Epilogue: progressive ways ahead 375
- Index 381
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of figures, tables and boxes vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Foreword xv
- Preface xix
- General introduction 1
-
How data are changing
- Statistical work: the changing occupational landscape 13
- The creation and use of big administrative data 23
- Data analytics 35
- Social media data 47
-
Counting in a globalised world
- Adult skills surveys and transnational organisations: globalising educational policy 65
- Using survey data: towards valid estimates of poverty in the South 79
- Counting the population in need of international protection globally 91
- Tax justice and the challenges of measuring illicit financial flows 103
-
Statistics and the changing role of the state
- The control and ‘fitness for purpose’ of UK official statistics 119
- The statistics of devolution 133
- Welfare reform: national policies with local impacts 145
- From ‘welfare’ to ‘workfare’, and back again? Social insecurity and the changing role of the state 157
- Access to data and NHS privatisation: reducing public accountability 171
-
Economic life
- The ‘distribution question’: measuring and evaluating trends in inequality 187
- Labour market statistics 199
- The financial system: money makes the world go around 213
- The difficulty of building comprehensive tax avoidance data 225
- Tax and spend decisions: did austerity improve financial numeracy and literacy? 237
-
Inequalities in health and wellbeing
- Health divides 251
- Measuring social wellbeing 265
- Re-engineering health policy research to measure equity impacts 277
- The Generation Game: ending the phoney information war between young and old 291
-
Advancing social progress through critical statistical literacy
- The Radical Statistics Group: using statistics for progressive social change 307
- Lyme disease politics and evidence-based policy making in the UK 319
- Counting the uncounted: contestations over casualisation data in Australian universities 327
- The quantitative crisis in UK sociology 337
- Critical statistical literacy and interactive data visualisations 349
- Full Fact 359
- What a difference a dataset makes? Data journalism and/as data activism 365
- Epilogue: progressive ways ahead 375
- Index 381
